What a company knows is now one of its most valuable assets, and one of the easiest to steal. Canada is the only G7 country that does not give businesses a statutory civil remedy when their trade secrets are taken. This one-day conference brings together governments, defence and security experts, lawyers, investors and business leaders to decide how to fix that, and how fast.
Economic security starts in the firm. The know-how, data and processes that Canadian companies build are what keep the country competitive and sovereign. Foreign competitors, industrial spies and network intruders know this. When a Canadian company loses a trade secret, it often has no reliable way to go to court and stop the theft. The firm that holds the secret is Canada’s first line of defence, and today it is expected to defend itself without the right tools.
For founders, investors and the lawyers who advise them, the gap has a price. Companies that cannot protect what they know are harder to fund, harder to value and easier to hollow out. Scale-ups think twice before building in Canada. Investors discount what they cannot defend. Canada promised a civil remedy in the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) but has not yet put it in place, and with CUSMA under review, the question is urgent.
The conference builds on the research series Divisible by Design: Canada’s Trade Secrets from the Balsillie Legal Advisory Centre. The series shows that Canada can close this gap without changing the Constitution. The provinces would pass a modern, shared trade secrets law. Ottawa would protect the border and the criminal law. Federal and provincial governments would coordinate the two. The conference puts that plan in front of the people who would build it, enforce it and rely on it.
AGENDA
8:30 am | Registration and networking
9:00 am | Welcome
Ann Fitz-Gerald, Director, Balsillie School of International Affairs
Deborah MacLatchy, President and Vice-Chancellor, Wilfrid Laurier University
9:10 am | Why Canada needs a trade secrets law, and how to build one
Barry Appleton, Interim Director, Balsillie Legal Advisory Centre
9:45 am | Panel 1 Sovereignty and Security in the Intangibles Economy. What does the gap cost Canadian firms and investors, and what can an owner’s own remedy do that the state’s tools cannot?
Mariam Gabriel, Director, Economic Security, Department of National Defence
Laurent Carbonneau, Council of Canadian Innovators
Dan Ciuriak, Ciuriak Consulting
Moderator: Matt Malone, Fellow, Balsillie School of International Affairs, and CIGI
10:45 am | Coffee
11:00 am | Federal and provincial dialogue. What will governments commit to, and when?
The Hon. Stephen Crawford, Minister of Procurement, Government of Ontario
Karim Bardeesy, MP and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry (invited)
Moderator: Vass Bednar, Canadian Shield Institute
12:00 pm | Lunch
12:45 pm | International keynote: Lessons from Canada’s partners
Heather C. Steinmeyer, Chief Policy Officer, International Trademark Association (INTA)
1:15 pm | Economic dimensions and trade leakage. What does the gap cost in trade terms, and how can border measures reach goods made with stolen secrets?
Dan Ciuriak, Ciuriak Consulting
Horatio Morgan, University of Waterloo
1:30 pm | Panel 2 Building the Law: A Uniform Act, a Federal Perimeter, and Quebec. How should a modern law be written, and how does it fit with Quebec’s civil law?
Jason Markwell, Markwell Clarizio LLP
Christian Clavette, University of Ottawa
Moderator: David Durand, Founder and Managing Partner, Durand Lawyers, Montreal
2:15 pm | Coffee
2:30 pm | Panel 3 The Practitioners’ Perspective. How would a statute change deals, diligence, advice to founders, and the value of a lost asset?
Jim Hinton, Own Innovation
Natalie Raffoul, Brion Raffoul
Moderator: Ann Fitz-Gerald
3:00 pm | From Discussion to Legislation: Principles and next steps
Barry Appleton, with the panel moderators and the Conference Rapporteur
3:30 pm | Reception (30 minutes)
Who Should Attend
Policy makers and public servants. Defence, security and intelligence professionals. In-house counsel and IP and corporate lawyers. Innovators, Investors, founders and business leaders. Researchers and students. Anyone who wants Canada’s businesses to be able to protect what they create.
Conference Goal
This is, to our knowledge, the first conference in Canada to bring these groups together on this issue. Its goal is practical: to move from discussion to legislation. The day closes with a discussion of principles and next steps.
Read Before You Come
Divisible by Design: Canada’s Trade Secrets (a 3-part series)
The three working papers set out the legal gap, the economic security case and a path to legislation.
1. Why Canada Needs a Trade Secrets Law, and How to Build One
2. Trade Secrets, the Division of Powers, and the Limits of Federal Treaty Performance
3. The Record: Trade Secrets, Economic Security, and Canada’s Commitments
Hosts and Supporters
This conference is hosted by the Balsillie Legal Advisory Centre at the Balsillie School of International Affairs with the support of:
Access and Contact
For questions about registration or accessibility needs, contact Pegah Jamalof at events@balsillieschool.ca
Parking
Please note that during business hours, parking is available in the Erb Lot across the street from the School. This lot is free for the first two hours, then you may purchase additional time using the Honk Mobile app. Alternatively, the School is located on the GRT #5 bus route and near the Uptown Waterloo and Willis Way ION stops. Or, it is about a 10 min walk from campus. There is no parking available in the CIGI Campus lot.
